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Peter Doherty
Peter Doherty is a British musician known for co-founding The Libertines with Carl Barat, and later establishing his other band, Babyshambles. Early Life (1979-1997) Peter was born in England to Jacqueline and Peter John Doherty, and was raised Catholic. His father was a British Army officer, so Peter and his two sisters - Amy Jo and Emily - grew up in army garrisons across the United Kingdom and Germany. At school Peter got eleven GCSEs and four A-Levels, went on a tour of Russia after winning a poetry competition when he was sixteen, and started his QPR football fanzine, All Quiet On The Western Avenue. In June 1997 he moved to London, living at first with his grandmother, then in Kilburn, digging graves for a living. His older sister, Amy Jo, was at Brunel University at this time, and introduced Peter to one of her friends: Carl Barât. Early Career (1997-2001) Peter and Carl first met at Amy Jo's. Peter admired Carl's guitar skills and demanded lessons. Carl decided Peter was an incredibly talented poet/thinker. They bonded quickly, trading off musical and literary preferences, playing guitar, writing songs, forming bands. Peter went to University College London to do English literature but left after a year, and moved to a basement flat on Holloway Road/Camden Road with Carl and a woman named Sasha. They referred to this flat as 'The Delaney Mansions.' They referred to this flat as 'The Delaney Mansions,' and it was the location of the first Libertines show. From the formation of The Libertines in 1997 until getting signed in 2001, Peter mainly concerned himself with his band. For money Peter bartended at Filthy McNasty's, and for a short time attempted to work as a rent boy. He also began enjoying and dealing various drugs - particularly speed - at the time. As his band became more successful, Pete branched out to doing poetry nights at the Foundry, focused on small guerrilla gigs, and began taking heroin. The Libertines briefly split up. Around September 2001, their manager Banny Poostchi pulled them back together and found them a drummer, Gary Powell. They were signed to Rough Trade before Christmas. With the signing money, Peter and Carl moved to 112a Teesdale Street, Benthal Green, and called their flat 'The Albion Rooms.' They kept the rest of their money in the fridge. The Libertines (2002-2004) In early 2002 The Libertines were favourably reviewed in the NME, had their first photoshoot (which included Peter's iconic red guards' jackets), and supported for The Strokes and The Vines. Peter was thrilled when Bernard Butler agreed to produce their first official single – What A Waster – but found Butler's work ethic too strict. Mick Jones was producer for The Libertines' first album, Up the Bracket. He was a better match for Peter's style, who threw himself into recording the songs, seeing girls, and taking drugs along with Carl. Out of this, Skag and Bone Man was written and recorded in a single day. But tension was already building in Peter's relationship with Carl. In August 2002 The Libertines played Reading and Leeds. Carl's amp exploded, and by the end of the show Pete was swinging his guitar at Carl. They ran offstage fighting. It was around this time Peter found the internet a useful resource for promoting the band and connecting with fans. He regularly posted on libertines.org as the band toured Europe; they appeared to be having a grand old time, but when the NME featured them on the magazine cover for the second time, Pete admitted openly to using heroin and predicted The Libertines' break up. He destroyed the amps at a show in Sapporo and when the rest of the band left the stage he played on his own. Everyone else was getting fairly fed up with him. The Libertines headed to the United States next. Peter walked through New York trying to find dealers among the homeless people. The Babyshambles Sessions were recorded and Peter and Carl got their matching Libertine tattoos, but there was intermittent fighting and Pete throwing strops the whole trip. He invited a load of vagrants from the streets to his room, ended up in tears begging Carl to help. Carl kicked them out for him. But the next day they were back, so Carl smashed up Pete's needles and flew home. After returning to England, Don't Look Back Into the Sun was recorded. With Peter's crack'n'smack intake reaching epic proportions, drugs were banned from the studio, so he stopped showing up and played more guerrilla gigs on his own. One important show took place on Carl's birthday, and Peter counted on him showing up, but Carl's friends and family had thrown him a birthday party, and convinced him to stay with them. Hurt, Pete disappeared for days and The Libertines had to play scheduled shows on a European tour without him. On June 19 2003, Carl told Peter he was out of the band until he cleaned himself up. Peter checked into rehab – first time of many to come – and left after a week, under the pretense that his friend Wolfman was getting married. While the rest of The Libertines were touring, he pulled together a new band, Babyshambles, and shaved his head. In July he made it to the birth of his and Lisa Moorish's son, Astile, but soon disappeared again. Babyshambles were to play a show on the 25th but Peter never showed, because he had broken into and robbed Carl's flat, and was arrested. He went to court on the 7th of September and was sentenced to six months in jail. This was later reduced to two months. In his time there, he went clean off drugs. In October 2003 he was released, and Carl met him at the gates. The reunion was heavily covered by music journalists and Roger Sargent took the classic photo that ended up the cover of The Libertines' second self-titled album. Peter was right back on his chemicals but they had a good old knees-up and played the Freedom Gig together at the Tap'n'Tin. Banny resigned as The Libertines' manager and Alan McGee took her place. He took Peter and Carl to his country house to write songs for their second album, but after a drunken row Carl smashed his face against a bathroom sink. The album writing was delayed five months as he recovered, then the two went to Paris to finish it. In February 2004 they toured, playing the new songs. The crowds were going wild, the shows were getting violent and everything was smashing, except on the first night of three at the Brixton Academy, when Peter ran out in the middle of Can't Stand Me Now, and returned with his chest slashed by a razor. In the spring, Peter and Wolfman recorded and released 'For Lovers', and the song reached the Top Ten in the British charts. The Libertines began to record their second, self-titled album with Mick Jones, and during recording Pete checked into rehab three times. He was fighting regularly with Carl by now, besides complaining about him on the internet and to the tabloids. When the recording was finished he went on an all-out drug binge which ended in The Priory on May 14, and officially out of the band until he was clean. He checked out and back in and out again, and the tabloids really began having a go at him (which has continued to this day). He turned up to play at Infinity, 7th of June 2004, and tell Carl that he was heading to a rehab monastery in Thailand. It was their final show. After, The Libertines did not perform together for six years, though Carl, John, and Gary continued playing worldwide for some time. Babyshambles (2004-2007) Peter spent three days at the monastery, then took off to Bangkok to indulge in the cheap heroin supply. After returning to London on the 17th of June he was arrested for carrying a flick knife; a present for Carl from Thailand. On the first of September he arrived at Thames Magistrate Court sitting on the sun-roof of a car, playing guitar and singing. He was handed a four-month suspended sentence. Peter went on a short solo tour with Dot Allison, then focused on his new main project; Babyshambles. They had released their self-titled first single in April, and it sold well. From September to January 2005 they toured as their first stable lineup: Pete and Patrick Walden, Gemma Clark, and Drew McConnell. Their shows were hugely successful when Peter managed to get it together enough to play, the fans even rioted. Early 2005, Max Carlish began obsessively following and filming Peter, who was dating Kate Moss by this time, which had created quite a media frenzy. Carlish sold photos of Pete taking heroin to The Sunday Mirror; Peter subsequently punched him in the face and was arrrested for assault and theft. He spent six days in Pentonville, released on the 8th of February on bail and ordered to enter rehab, while the NME Awards nominated Babyshambles as Best New Band and Best Live Band. Category:Musician